Absolute Beast Dominion

Chapter 523: Gorilla Or Simply Monkeys?

Leo looked up to see an enormous, 10 to 12-meter-tall gorilla-like creature standing above a tall mound, furiously staring him down. The beast had charcoal-black fur and glowing magma veins visible beneath its skin.

Magmaback Ape Lord (High 4-star) - Super Bloodline [Intelligence - Adolescent]

*pic*

BOP! BOP! BOP!

WRRRAAAAHHH!!

The gorilla beat its chest loudly and proceeded to lift a boulder beside it. It was almost the same size as the one hurled at Leo previously, the only difference being that it wasn’t blazing like a meteor.

But the next moment, even that difference disappeared when the ape used a skill to turn the rocky boulder into a mass of flaming fire and raised it to throw at Leo.

Leo immediately looked around to assess the situation and saw that the smaller underlings had already reached him.

Ashfur Ape (1-star – 2-star) [Intelligence - Juvenile] - Ordinary Bloodline

They were covered in dark gray fur dusted with volcanic ash.

Cinderback Ape (2-star – 3-star) [Intelligence - Juvenile] - Mortal Bloodline

They were larger and looked more aggressive than the Ashfur Apes. Their backs glowed faintly red as if responding to their rage, and it even seemed to allow them to withstand extreme heat.

There were a few obscure species mixed in as well, but the most dominant were these two, which were madly rushing forward to tear Leo apart.

Leo quickly scanned the area to check if any other predators were around. Finding none, he narrowed his eyes.

"Monkeys... courting death?"

---

An hour later...

Magmaback Ape Lord (High 4-star) [Intelligence - Adolescent] killed - 80,000 XP

Ashfur Ape (1-star – 2-star) [Intelligence - Juvenile] killed × 189 - No XP

Cinderback Ape (2-star – 3-star) [Intelligence - Juvenile] killed × 97 - No XP

Level 31: 100,000 / 1,550,000 → 180,000 / 1,550,000

There were many other low-level apes that ran away when Leo started slaughtering their kind. Leo didn’t bother pursuing them, or else he might have had at least three times the haul he did.

Nyxa was once again having a good meal on the Ashfur and Cinderback Ape corpses, while Leo stored the Ape Lord’s corpse in his spiritual space.

"Well, a gorilla having a second phase wasn’t on my bucket list of things to explore," Leo said, dusting off his hands.

Apparently, during the fight, the Ape Lord had turned itself into a blazing fireball. Its charcoal fur burned fiercely, and even its strength seemed to have multiplied. But Hydra’s high-pressure water cannon was enough to extinguish the blazing monkey.

Though Leo was very happy that he had obtained another set of intelligent beast cores, this time he could easily assimilate a 4-star Talent at minimum.

"Wait, these beasts must have some interesting treasures too."

Since he had already dealt with the guards, it was only natural for him to take the treasures.

He climbed onto the mound swiftly and looked around. After half an hour of searching, he found a large cave—large enough to fit the enormous ape—and walked in.

And just as he had hoped, he found a shit ton of magical fruits lying around the place. At a glance, he spotted treasures ranging from White Tier to Peak Blue Tier. All of them were strength- and stamina-enhancing fruits, with some also helping improve fire affinity.

There were even a few rare Purple Tier fruits.

[Magmaheart Peach] - Pseudo Purple Tier

- A black-skinned peach with a glowing orange core. Gradually melts away skeletal impurities and rebuilds bones with volcanic minerals.

[Emberbone Lychee] - Low Purple Tier

- A small fruit covered in ember-like scales. Strengthens joints, tendons, and bones simultaneously.

There were no higher-grade treasures, making it obvious that the Ape Lord had been eating everything.

With that done, Leo continued his journey toward the center of the Realm.

Somehow, after the gorilla and its tribe, there were actually no beasts in sight. When Leo encountered the Ape Lord, there had only been around 10 kilometers left to reach the center. That meant an almost 10-kilometer radius around the center of the Secret Realm was completely empty.

At this point, Leo’s senses were heightened to the maximum, and he continuously used [Spiritual Sense] and [Geo Resonance Sense] to track any movement, whether underground or in the surroundings.

At some point, his trait—[Geo Resonance Sense]—could no longer penetrate more than a few meters beneath the ground. It was almost as if some special dense rocks were buried underneath, blocking his senses.

And it started at roughly 5 kilometers from the center.

Leo immediately knew something was hiding beneath the ground.

When he felt his senses being blocked, Leo realized something.

"Professor Gunther and anyone else above the age of 30 must feel like this throughout the entire Secret Realm. No wonder they weren’t able to pinpoint this specific area."

Leo muttered.

The way those dense rocks blocked Leo’s senses and prevented him from determining what lay beneath the ground was the same way people over 30 experienced the entire Secret Realm. To them, there was no difference between standing at the edge of the realm or near its center.

"Damn sure the Wyverns are hiding somewhere beneath the ground... I just need to find the secret entrance."

Leo looked toward the volcano’s mouth at the mountain peak, where hot vapors and molten magma continuously spewed outward.

He was certain he would find something worthwhile there.

But worthwhile also meant danger.

"I just hope it’s not something Pseudo 5-star or higher," Leo muttered.

Even though Leo himself was Pseudo 5-star, he wouldn’t be able to compete with a beast of equal rank within its favorable environment. He also knew that a water cannon would be useless against a Pseudo 5-star or higher existence when its power was only at Peak 4-star. It simply wouldn’t be enough to extinguish the flames covering their bodies or cool their bodies to weaken them like it had with the Magmaback Ape Lord.

Leo traversed the arduous terrain and eventually found himself just 500 meters away from the peak.

But that final 500 meters was going to be another hellish journey.

An almost 90-degree slope stood before him.

Not only that, but there were numerous holes throughout the 500-meter stretch that leaked hot lava directly down the slope. The surface itself was so impossibly hot that Leo’s skin started burning almost immediately upon contact, even with both defensive traits activated.